Falling Apart Piece by Piece
by aroace-in-space
Summary: Obi-Wan knew the force wasn't restricted now, it was freely flowing through him. He remembered what Master Qui-Gon had told him once, do not live in the past, focus of what is happening here and now, and in this moment it made more sense than ever. He could feel a spark ignite inside of him and the force strengthen around him, he embraced it. There will be attempted suicide later.
1. Chapter 1

It was that feeling you got before disaster, before everything went wrong that was nagging at Obi-Wan as he kneeled on the floor of Sundari's throne room with Maul's supercommando's pointing blasters at his head. As a Jedi, he was familiar with the feeling, but not once had he been so desperate to change it.

He knew Satine was about to die. It was the feeling of impending doom that had him frozen in place, unable to move. Despite the code he had lived by his whole life, he felt as if he needed to protect, to help her _now,_ yet still he couldn't do anything. He just knelt, watching as she struggled, clawing at the invisible hand grasping her throat.

"Your emotions betray you," Maul spat, taunting the Jedi master, "you fear and, yes," he hissed, "your anger. Let your anger deepen your hatred!"

Shutting his eyes, unable to look at Satine in pain, Obi-Wan reflected upon what Maul head said. It was all true. He was afraid of loosing someone else he cared about. Lost in thought, it was her words that brought him back into reality. "Don't listen to him, Obi," Satine managed to choke out despite the grasp on her neck. She was right, he couldn't, wouldn't, let his fear and anger get the better of him.

Fighting against the ache in his chest, Obi-Wan used all his strength to speak. Even as the words escaped his lips, his mind was somewhere else. He knew the feeling of dread and fear that possesses him It was the same feeling he had as a young padawan when he stood helplessly in the moments before the same creature killed his master. He wouldn't let Satine face the same terrible fate with him standing helplessly to the side, she deserved better. He _couldn't_ lose her too. The grips of the men holding him only tightened as he struggled against them.

Obi-Wan knew the force wasn't restricted now, it was freely flowing through him. He remembered what Master Qui-Gon had told him once, do not live in the past, focus of what is happening here and now, and in this moment it made more sense than ever. He could feel a spark ignite inside of him and the force strengthen around him, he embraced it.

The Jedi had always believed that emotions made you weaker. His whole life he had been taught that if you got attached to someone or something you were more vulnerable to the dark side, but now he knew it wasn't true. It was impossible to deny it now with fear creeping upon him. In this moment where he faced losing her, he finally admitted to himself that he loved her, more than anything, and he was _not_ about to lose her.

Obi-Wan found himself looking back at Satine, her teeth clenched in pain as Maul tightened his grip and dragged her forward using the force He knew if he didn't act now she would die. The men behind him shoved him to his knees before forcing him, once again, to look up. In that moment Maul activated his lightsaber, its black blade humming to life, and it seemed time began to slow down. Obi-Wan caught one last glance of Satine as she was consumed by fear before closing his eyes and feeling the force flow through him, strengthening more and more. Finally, using his newfound strength, he pulled his hands free from the grips of the supercommando's and using the force, he pushed Satine out of Maul's grip right before the darksaber impaled her. The room feel silent except for the thud of her body hitting the floor and the whimper in pain before she fell unconscious.

Maul's stunned expression turned to disgust as he began to charge at Obi-Wan, both his red and black sabers now activated, with Savage at his side. Without any effort, Obi-Wan let the force push the two dathomirian brothers back. They simultaneously hit the glass wall behind the throne Maul had been seated in minutes before, shattering it, sending thousands of shards throughout the room, and then falling to the ground below them. The force was stronger than usual now, and Obi-Wan knew it was because he had stopped denying his feeling. His love for Satine didn't inhibit his ability, it only gave him more strength.

Behind him, the Maul's soldiers stood dazed. Not knowing what to do or who to take orders from, they upholstered their blasters and began to shoot at the Jedi target. Obi-Wan gave them a slight nudge with the force and they stumbled backwards, struggling against the strange invisible power that was pushing them. Taking advantage of the confusion, the Jedi master summoned his lightsaber from on of the dazed supercommando's, attached it to his belt, and ran to Satine's unconscious body. He picked her up, resting one hand under her legs while the other supported her back. Unknowingly, she rested her head on his shoulder. He ran past the fazed guards as fast as he could, Satine's weight barely restricting his ability. He knew that he should be exhausted after using the force to such extent, but he wasn't worn down in the least bit. He could still feel the strength of the force rushing through him as he ran out of the deteriorating throne room. The evidence of earlier attacks was clearly visible through broken glass windows and soot covering the ground were an explosion had been set off earlier.

He reached the doors to the palace and used to force to open them, revealing the capital of Mandalore caught in the crossfire of Maul's soldiers and the former Death Watch. Buildings were crumbling as fires and deafening explosions were set off. Mandalorians were caught shooting at each other, some even in fistfights. It was exactly what Satine had fought so hard to end. Within a few days, not only had she been dethroned, but all her work had gone to waste. The peaceful Mandalore was gone, caught in civil war again. Obi-Wan was glad that Satine was unconscious and couldn't see it, she didn't deserve any of this. Despite that fact that he had saved her, he could feel a part of Satine die with the pacifist ways of Mandalore.

Unable to watch anymore, Obi-Wan began to run again, creeping along to outskirts to stay out of the lines of fire. He reached a speeder and climbed on. He set Satine down on his lap, keeping on arm firmly wrapped around her waist while the other steered the speeder. He took off, watching as Sundari erupted into flames around around him, burning down the palace, taking Satine's legacy with it. When a few Mandalorians in blue armor appeared behind him, protecting the Jedi and former Duchess from the supercommando's attacks, Obi-Wan was only vaguely aware. His only focus was getting Satine to safety. Barely audible compared to Satine's slightly struggling breath, blasters continued to fire. Obi-Wan drove the speeder into a tunnel leading to the docking bay and quickly halted it, jumping off and running to the nearest ship, using his own body to protect his love. He was about to enter the nearest ship when one of the Death Watch members that had been protecting him walked up and took off her helmet. Her red hair fell loosely to about her shoulders and her striking green eyes stared at him accusingly.

"You better take good care of her," she nodded slightly at Satine's limp body, the duchess's head still resting on Obi-Wan's shoulder with her face half buried in his hair, "After all this, it would a shame if she died on your watch, Jetii." She gave him an untrusting glare and Obi-Wan surprisingly smiled at her hostility.

"I can promise you, I'd give my life to keep her safe," he replied with a quick glance down at Satine. Even while unconscious, she looked so _peaceful._ It pained him to think about what she had been through, her words when he first arrived ringing through his head. _Here to do more of your master's bidding._ He would remember to ask her about it later, when she was ready. For now, his attention was back on the other Mandalorian woman. Her lips had turned upwards into a small smile at his last words, but instead of continuing on Satine's protection, she changed the topic.

"Tell your Republic what has happened," she spoke over the sound off blasters and explosions. Obi-Wan knew what this would lead to, and based on the woman's expression, she did too.

"That will likely lead to a Republic invasion of Mandalore!" Obi-Wan responded, pulling Satine closer as another explosion went off, rattling the ground. That was the last thing that she would want! The red headed woman continued to shot at the incoming supercommando's, ignoring the frown that had fallen over Obi-Wan's face.

"Yes, and Maul will die, but Mandalore will survive. We always survive." She turned towards Obi-Wan. The look she wore was familiar, the Jedi master knew he had seen it before in someone else he knew… her words, the determination, he recognized it all.

"Your Satine's sister aren't you," he asked. She didn't reply, but the pained look she gave him showed it all. The woman's eyes once again fell on Satine. She sighed before turning back to the battle and charging in, covering Obi-Wan as he ran up the ramp of the ship. He entered the cockpit, Satine still in his arms, not bothering to sit. He only began to relax after he had entered the coordinates for Coruscant and sent the ship into hyperspace. He was safe now. _They_ were safe now.

Obi-Wan gently set Satine down on the medical bay's bed, tugging one of the pillows over and placing it under her head. He sat down next to her and carefully, making sure not to hurt her more, took her hand in his and laced their fingers together. With his free hand he reached up and brushed her hair behind her ear. He remained sitting there with one hand intertwined with hers and the other cupping her cheek for a minute. Just looking at her like this, he would never believe she had been so close to death. It was her struggling breath that brought him back to reality. Obi-Wan moved his hand from her cheek to her neck, gently resting his fingers against her skin. He let the force flow through him, healing Satine. Slowly, her breath returned to normal.

He let his eyes quickly scan over her, stopping when he caught sight of a tear in her dress, evidence that he hadn't been fast enough to save her from Maul unscathed. Hesitantly, he let go of Satine's hand and stood up, searching for a med kit. Finding one buried under a pile of spare parts and tools, he grabbed a bacta pad and walked back to the bed he had set Satine on. The cut itself wasn't very deep, but Obi-Wan knew from experience that lightsaber burns stung and left a scar no matter how small. Pushing some of the fabric of her dress away from the wound, he tried to use the force to heal her, but it didn't have the same effect as it did on her neck. His strength was fading fast as the exhaustion from his surge of power from earlier was beginning to hit him. On the brink of passing out, he cleaned the wound and gently placed the bacta pads over the burn. Force summoning a chair over to him, he took Satine's hand in his own again and sat down, leaning back before closing his eyes to finally rest. The last thing he remembered before he faded into sleep was Satine almost instinctively intertwining her fingers with his.


	2. Chapter 2

Satine wasn't exactly sure where she was when she woke up. Her last memory was being choked by Maul, his force grip suffocating her as her lungs screamed for air as Obi-Wan knelt helplessly in front of her, but she could tell she wasn't in the throne room anymore, she felt more secure where she was now. Someone had set her down on a bed, her head placed neatly on a pillow with the blankets wrapped tightly around her. The room was silent except for a faint hum of machinery. Satine wasn't sure exactly why she felt safe here, but she had a nagging feeling that no one could hurt her. Maybe it was lack of the burning pain in her neck and lungs. Was it possible that Maul had killed her?

She decided against that when, still keeping her eyes closed, she tried to roll to her side. A sharp pain erupted in her side. Reaching down, she brushed her fingers over the source of the burn finding the fabric of her dress torn. The cut, whatever it was, had already been treated for, a bacta patch placed over it. If it hurt this much now she didn't want to know how it felt when she had first been injured.

Finally, Satine cracked her eyes open, wincing at the bright light. As her eyes adjusted she slowly began to make out her surroundings. She was in the medical bay of a ship, A mandalorian ship, slaying on a bunk in the back of the room. A chair was pulled in front of her, a man was asleep in it. She recognized him, how couldn't she? Even asleep, Obi-Wan Kenobi looked exhausted. However he had saved them both, it had obviously cost him a lot of energy. Suddenly, it occurred to her, how exactly had he gotten her out of that mess?

Carefully, she tried to move again, pushing aside the nagging ache in her side, though this time it wasn't the pain that stopped her. She realized when she tried to move her hand, that it was enveloped in another. With a quick glance down she found Obi-Wan's much larger hand holding hers. His fingers were rough and calloused from years of fighting and wielding his lightsaber, but they still fit comfortably between hers. Giving up on trying to sit up, she slowly laid back down, now reluctant to move. The quiet was nice and peaceful. She did enjoy just being able to lay there with her hand in Obi-Wan's and she wasn't sure if she was ready to wake him just yet.

She knew that if she did they would be forced into having their first formal conversation since he faked his death, since she had hung up halfway through his explanation via hologram. Even now, Satine couldn't really figure out what had made her so mad over it. She still didn't like to think about the incident, Obi-Wan trying to convince her what he did was for the better of the Jedi order even though she had clearly expressed how much he had hurt her. Maybe that was it, his action where the ultimate proof that he loved the order more than her, but now here he was. She had never actually believed that Obi-Wan would come to her aid when she had called for help, she had stupidly assumed he would still be mad, yet now he had saved her, after jeopardizing his place in the order, and she still didn't even know what he had done to get them away from Maul. Maybe, just maybe, there was a spark of hope that he still cared.

Now, feeling just a slight bit more content, Satine turned her head, gazing at Obi-Wan. He was still wearing his disguise from earlier, the red Mandalorian armour a strange contrast to his usual Jedi attire. He was slumped in the chair, his head tilted to one side, resting on his shoulder and his legs were propped up on the bed. One of his arms rested across his chest while the other was stretched out, his hand still intertwined with Satine's, his grip surprisingly tight, almost desperate, as he slept.

Slowly, Satine's desire to delay any conversation with the Jedi master faded. She wanted to wake him, to talk with him, ask him why, after all they had been through, had he risked everything for her, but he looked so worn out, the dark circles around his eyes prominent. Despite this she still wanted to ask him so much, to hear his voice again. Eventually the selfish side of her won out. Reaching her arm out, she placed her other hand on top of his. He must've been sleeping lightly, because his eyes opened immediately after. Catching sight of the women who lay in front of him, his lips turned up in a smile and he squeezed her hand gently.

"Good morning, my dear," he said, his voice soft and soothing, as usual. Despite this, Satine was able to hear a hint of worry behind his words, as much as he tried to cover it up. "Are you feeling better." He reached out with his free hand to brush her hair from her face.

"Yes, thank you. I appreciate it." She squeezed his hand back before letting go and pushing herself up so she was sitting against the wall. Even though she finally managed to move, Obi-Wan had caught her wince in pain with the movement. He moved towards her and held her steady at her shoulders.

"You're still hurt." Obi-Wan's eyes darted to the bacta patch covering the lightsaber burn. "I'm sorry I couldn't do more, I wasn't able to stay awake much longer." He moved his hand from her shoulder to her side, brushing his thumb over the rip in the fabric. Slowly, careful not to hurt her, he took of the bacta. Now, after resting, Obi-Wan could see the full extent if the injury. The burn stretched from right where Maul would've impaled her a few inches down, getting deeper the lower. When he pulled her away, Maul's blade must have cut her. Even though he knew he had still saved her, Obi-Wan couldn't help but feel guilty for this. "I can try to heal you now."

"No, Obi," Satine cut in, "you look exhausted." She smiled weakly at him, and Obi-Wan couldn't help but grin back. He hadn't seen her smile in what seemed like a whole different lifetime. Even yesterday when he had broken her out, she had forced herself to look happy, pushing aside the nagging guilt of her failure to Mandalore. So much had happened since then. Force, he had almost lost her in the process. Trying not to remember _that_ , his mind drifted to the original rescue again, her words filling his thoughts once again. _Here to do more of your master's bidding_. What had they done to her?

Satine didn't have to be force sensitive to tell that something was wrong. Silence fell over the Jedi and former Duchess and Obi-Wan's smile had went away as fast as it had appeared. "Obi-Wan, are you alright." The Jedi remained slouched over. He refused to make eye contact, lost in his own thoughts. Satine reached out and placed her hand along his cheek, brushing against the edge if his beard. "Obi…"

"What did they do to you?" Obi-Wan suddenly jolted up, the words leaving his mouth before he got a chance to process saying them. His expression was a mix of concern and fear. He took Satine's other hand in his own, letting their fingers curl around each other's, and pulled it down so he was holding her hand in his lap. Satine shivered, not just at the contact, but at what he has asked. She didn't want to remember anything that had happened then. Pulling her hand from his cheek, she turned her head away from him.

"I don't want to talk about it," she shunned away the question. Obi-Wan caught her voice shake and began to run his thumbs over the back of her hands to comfort her. "Not yet."

"We can wait," Obi-Wan reassured Satine. I wasn't hard to guess what Maul had done considering her fear at just thinking back on it. Despite his growing concern, Obi-Wan kept quiet, waiting for Satine to speak again, and eventually she did.

"What happened after…" She didn't bother to finish the statement, he knew what she was referring to, "I don't remember much."

Obi-Wan's face feel as he remember Satine's pained face as Maul choked her. It was as if the same feeling of dread had possessed him again. "I almost lost you. You almost died because of me, because I was reckless."

"I asked you to come here," Satine responded. "None of this was your fault, alright?" Obi-Wan didn't seem convinced. His worried look remained and he glanced at his hands, shaking his head.

"No, Satine, all those years ago I made a vow to protect you, to keep you safe. But because I couldn't keep that promise, you were hurt, almost killed." He raised his voice and looked back at her, his expression filled with pain. "I'm so sorry," he choked out, and Satine could've sworn he was crying, but he looked away before she could fully tell. He really did blame himself for everything that had happened.

"Obi-Wan, look at me," she hissed at him, freeing one of her hands from his and forcing him to when he refused. She was right, he had been crying, tears spilling down his cheeks as he looked at her. Satine used her thumb to brush a few away. "You weren't the one choking me, you didn't cut me, _you didn't hurt me_. It was Maul, okay."

"But I couldn't stop him from hurting you," he responded, her words not changing how he felt. "I couldn't keep you safe. How am I supposed to protect this galaxy from this war if I can't protect you!"

Satine felt a sudden urge to slap him, and that was precisely what she did. "If you hadn't been there I _would_ be dead right now!" That had defiantly struck a nerve. Obi-Wan reached up and took the hand holding his cheek in his once again. She squeezed it reassuringly and smiled at him. "You're the reason I'm alive right now, Obi."

Obi-Wan didn't respond, he didn't need to. The look on his face was all he needed to show Satine how he felt. Relief had washed over him as he began to fully realize she was alive, she was alright. But of course, there was more he needed to say. "What are we going to do," he sighed. "I'm assuming you'll stay on Coruscant until the situation on Mandalore is figured out." She nodded, wanting to speak, but knowing he had more to say. "But, Satine what about…" he never thought he would actually have this conversation in his life. "What about _us_."

She seemed just as shocked as Obi-Wan had felt. Not once, even in the year they had spent together, had either of them even bothered to actually verbalize what they were to each other and how they felt. "What do you mean," Satine questioned, not quite certain she had heard him right.

"When Maul was choking you," he paused, unsure how to put this. After all, he was a jedi, he wasn't supposed to feel like this in the first place. "Satine, I thought I was going to lose you. I realized, no, I guess I've always known, but… well, I've never told you, I've never really admitted it to myself and I didn't want to loose you without you knowing, but now." He sighed, trying to find a way to phrase his feelings and failing. "Satine, I love you. I knew I did all those years ago when I was protecting you, but when I received your message, when Maul was choking you, I realized I never really did get over my feelings for you."

Satine smiled at that. Somehow, she had always know how he felt, despite never acting on his feelings, but hearing him saying it, it was different. "I love you too, Obi" She leaned forward, quickly brushing her lips against his cheek before returning to her position. In return, Obi-Wan reached up to caress her cheek with one of his hands. He rested his forehead against hers, now, being closer to her, realizing how exhausted she really looked. It's not that he had expected her to get a lot of sleep while captured, but she looked like she hadn't slept in days, he didn't know how he hadn't noticed it before. He was probably too caught up in caring for her other injuries. She had dark circles around her eyes, and overall, just looked like collapsing. The Jedi also noticed that her sharp features were more accented than usual. She was unhealthily thin.

Along with quite a few other reasons, Obi-Wan wished that they had arrived on Coruscant already so he could get her a proper meal instead of the ration bars he had. Despite this, he still grabbed one and handed it to her. "I'm not hungry," was her response as she handed it back to him. He simply pushed it back to her.

"Eat," he commanded. "You look starving."

She shook her head. "Obi…" he glared at her. "What about you."

"I'll be fine, just eat." And she did, quickly devouring the ration bar in a few bites, earning a satisfied smile from the Jedi master. "I wish I had more, but I'm afraid food was the last thought on my mind when I rushed here to rescue you."

She opened her mouth to speak again, but only yawned. "Tired, are we?" The former Duchess nodded. Obi-Wan helped her lay back down, at one point insisting to try to heal her again, only for her to unsurprisingly refuse. He pulled the blankets over her, quickly kissing her forehead before beginning to walk to the other bed across the room. He suddenly remembered something and turned around. "Satine?"

"Yes."

"I'm sorry, about faking my death." She visibly tensed. This was the exact conversation she had been trying to avoid. "I know you don't want to talk about it," he had definitely taken the hint, "I just want you to know I'm sorry, I never meant to hurt you, alright. You don't need to forgive me, not now, not ever, I just want you to know…" Satine didn't say anything, Obi-Wan didn't expect her to.

He continued to make his way to the bed, laying down, using the force to turn of the lights, and pulling the covers over him. "Goodnight, Satine."

"Goodnight, Obi" she responded wearily. With one last glance at the woman he loved, Obi-Wan shut his eyes and drifted to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm so sorry for the late update! I would say I had trouble writing this chapter, but I really didn't...I just wrote a few different versions and couldn't decide which one I like the best...**

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Satine was certain it had been hours since Obi-Wan had switched off the lights and fell asleep. The sound of his breathing was the only thing breaking the silence of the ships medbay. She could feel sleep pulling at her, her eyelids heavy, but she had already learned that lesson.

The second she had shut her eyes she had been overcome with memories, the distant footsteps of the torture droid approaching, Maul's smirk at her failed attempt to block him out from reading her mind, the stinging cuts left along her back, and what she considered worst of all, the nagging fear that Obi-Wan had decided to leave her.

She wasn't about to admit any of it, especially not to Obi-Wan. She trusted him, how could she not when he had saved her life so many times, but he was loyal to the Jedi. If the council was to ask him for a briefing of what had happened, he would tell them. Before she knew it, her capture and torture would be publicized. The last thing she needed was the galaxy's pity for her failure, for _Mandalore's_ failure.

A small creak from the bunk across the room drew Satine's attention back to the ship. Despite her tiredness, she was alert, her eyes scanning the room, only to find the source of the sound Obi-Wan rolling onto his side. She let out a sigh of relief, watching the Jedi's chest rise and fall as he breathed. His lips were turned up slightly in a small smile. She was certain that if his eyes were open they would have the familiar sparkle that appeared whenever he got happy. Obi-Wan had once told her that Jedi don't dream, only certain ones would get visions. Satine doubted that now, he did seem awfully content for a sleeping man who claimed he didn't dream.

It was almost enough to relieve the despair she had been dragging around with her since her capture. But not quite, the fear still won out, it always had. She feared for what would become of her people, for whether Bo and Korkie had made it out alive. Afraid that Maul was tracking her, that he would take her again. But she had Obi-Wan here with her this time, he wouldn't let that happen. He was her Jedi protector.

 _Force_ , she was pathetic. She could easily protect _herself_ if needed!

Of course, that was all forgotten when a shadow darted across the wall, mostly likely an illusion caused by one of the strange flickering lights from the medical equipment. It was enough to startle Satine, who instantly moved back, pressing herself flat against the wall.

The medical equipment then chose the terrible timing of then to let out a low rumble as it automatically turned itself back on. This time Satine did let a scream, very quietly, and short lived. It hadn't taken much time for her to realize that if there was an enemy stowing away in the ship, screaming would give them her exact location. And then she would be caught. She didn't want to think about what would come next.

To her own surprise, Obi-Wan didn't wake up. He did, however, let out an annoyed groan while rolling onto his stomach. Everything was quiet after that, the machine shutting itself back down. The stinging pain that she knew was one of the many cuts that she had gotten during the time she was Maul's prisoner had returned. Reaching down, she ran her hand along it, pulling back slightly when she felt the substance that she knew was blood. She had reopened the cut in her frantic panicking.

It was a miracle Obi-Wan hadn't noticed any of her other injuries while tending for her. Or perhaps, judging for the worry that filled his eyes when he had questioned her, he had known. But he respected her, he would give her the time she needed to recover and tell him what had happened. And she did intend to tell him everything, now now when she couldn't think about it without wincing, but eventually. He deserved to know, it affected him to. Maul had invaded her mind, he knew everything, and Obi-Wan Kenobi had played a major role in her life since the day that she had met him. Some of the Jedi's biggest secrets had been revealed to his enemy too, he deserved to know that. But not now.

Now, feeling slightly more confident in herself, she let her eyes drift closed in an attempt to fall asleep. Perhaps, simply because she had managed to make slight progress in convincing herself that Obi-Wan was right across the way, able to sense any slight disturbance in the force. She realized instantly that she had made a mistake. And the last thing she saw before she drifted off was a dark figure in front of Obi-Wan with glowing yellow eyes. _You can't escape me._

 _Satine knew Maul was coming. She didn't have to see him, although the glass walls of the prison did provide that advantage. She'd tried shattering them earlier. It had caused a racket, one Maul hadn't been pleased about. He'd made her swear never to try to break out again, leaving out the consequences. She knew them all to well._

 _But no, she didn't need to see him to know that as she sat, facing the wall, he was walking down the hallways towards her. She could hear his footsteps, the familiar metal of his prosthetic legs colliding with the floor. When he stepped into her view, a smug smile drawn across his face, she wasn't surprised. He quickly pressed the controls and the door slid open._

 _The first thing that Satine noticed was the fact that he was unarmed. Days of visits had lead her to believe that he had always kept his lightsaber on him. Now it wasn't, unless he was hiding it. The only good reason for that would be to give her a false sense of security, which was virtually useless considering that he was fully aware with her levels of discomfort here at all times. Not that he had ever even used the weapon on her on the first place. Threatened to, yes. And used other weapons, though she desperately tried to forget about that._

 _"Duchess," Maul hissed, not bothering to sit. Instead he paced back and forth in front of her, arms crossed behind his back, standing tall, and eyeing her as if she was some caged animal. She didn't understand why the zabrack still referred to her by the title that he had sripped her from, perhaps to aggravate her, remind of all she had lost and who she and her people now belonged to. "I've been informed that you contacted someone off planet, when you're-" he paused, stroking his chin, "he was your nephew wasn't he? And your sister. When they broke you out. I thought we agreed, no escaping." Mock disappointment washed over his face._

 _Satine didn't respond, she kept her head hung, trying her best to ignore Maul's words. She could only hope that Maul hadn't gotten a hold of Korkie, that Bo had gotten him to safety._

 _"Obi-Wan Kenobi," that successfully got her to look up, her mouth opening slightly, before quickly shutting it after Maul's smirk. "You recognize the name, you contacted him."_

 _"I-" she began to lie, quickly coming up with an excuse that was partially true. "The commlinks were jammed within the whole city, I couldn't get a signal."_

 _He slapped her, leaving a strange tingling on her cheek. She didn't have time to process it before he continued speaking. "Then explain this," Maul pulled out a commlink, and with a simple press of a button, the flickering hologram of Satine herself appeared. The whole message that she had sent to Obi-Wan replayed._

 _She was certain she was shaking, desperately trying to form words to beg for forgiveness, beg for him not to hurt her. Maul simply shook his head._

 _"I don't intend on hurting you," he chuckled softly. "You've had plenty of that recently." She let out a sigh of relief, one that Maul noticed. "I wouldn't do that yet. I still want answers."_

 _"I won't tell you anything," she managed to force all the confidence that she still had. She wouldn't give up anything that would potentially hurt Obi-Wan to him._

 _"You don't have to," Maul spat, reaching his hand out to her, only to stop inches before her forehead._

 _Satine was certain that there was no way to describe exactly what she felt. It hurt, but not the way that a blade or whip did, it was the way that you would feel after being belittled and deemed. It was insulting. She could feel Maul prying through her memories, trying to find what he wanted. Her attempts to push him out failed, only acting as encouragement for him to delve deeper._

 _But he could only see what she allowed him, right? Obi-Wan had described it before, that when reading minds, you could only see what the person allowed. Yet again, Maul wasn't Obi-Wan, force, he wasn't even a Jedi. Satine knew, she wasn't sure how, but she just knew that Maul had seen everything. All the loss, war, the year that Obi-Wan had spent on Mandalore, and everything between then and now._

"Please, get out!"

 _She could feel the pity radiating off of him._

"Get out of my mind! "

 _He seen everything he needed, he knew more about her than anyone else. Why wouldn't he leave?_

"GET OUT!"

 _He would leave, why wouldn't he leave?_ You can't escape me, _his words echoed through her head. He was invading her, her thoughts belonged to herself._

"Please, leave. Get out. Help me, Obi-Wan…"

"Obi-Wan!" Satine managed to scramble into a sitting position, pushing the blankets off her, not bothering to wipe the tears leaving streams down her cheeks.

Across the room, Obi-Wan's eyes darted open as he pushed himself up. Using the force, he switched on the lights, illuminating the rest of the room. His eyes landed on Satine, who was desperately trying to calm herself down. He got to his feet, crossing the room with only a few steps and climbing into the bunk with her. He pulled her into his arms, tightly holding her head against his chest as her hands tightly clung to the fabric of his tunic. "I'm right here, alright," he ran a hand through her hair. "You're safe now."

"Obi," she let out a muffled sob into his shoulder and nuzzled closer to him.

"I'm right here, darling," he assured her, his hand stopping on the small of her back.

"He's following us, Obi, he'll kill you," her hand was trembling against Obi-Wan. Her words left the Jedi thinking. He?

"Satine, who?" He asked, pulling back so he could look her in the eyes. Her eyes were still wet with tears, mouth parted slightly in fear.

"We need to leave, he'll kill you," she mumbled, trying to escape his grip, wanting to get to the cockpit of the ship.

"Who," Obi-Wan was more desperate this time, his hand gripping her arm to hold her in place.

"Maul."

Obi-Wan shuddered, and in his shock, Satine managed to free herself from his grip and stumble out of the medbay. "Wait," the Jedi called after her, letting the force guide him through the dark hallways of the ship. He found her slumped in on of the cockpits chairs, her eyes glued on the ship's radar, a mix of relief and confusion on her face.

"There's nothing here," her voice was exasperated. "Obi-Wan, he was here, he was following us!"

Obi-Wan tried not to focus on the fear in her voice. Maul wasn't here, he would feel him if he was. She had been dreaming it was just a nightmare, and he told her such.

"No," she protested, pushing his reassuring hand off of her shoulder. "He was here, I saw him. He was in front of you."

"Shh," he kneeled down next to her, taking both her hands in his own. Force, she was begging to scare him. Not once in the many years that he'd known her had she acted like this. "It was just a nightmare, okay. You need to tell me what he did." If he knew, perhaps he would be able to figure out what caused this. "In need to know."

"I can't," she sobbed, and Obi-Wan squeezed her hand in comfort. "Not yet, Obi. I can't, it hurts…"

 _At least she had stopped rambling about Maul._ "Alright, but Satine, it would help. I could help you."

"Not yet," her voice was nearly a whisper. Obi-Wan didn't bother to push any farther. He would give her time, just as he had promised before. Instead, he stood up and silently beckoned for her to follow him back to the med bay. She followed, only a few steps behind.

To Obi-Wan's own surprise, she didn't seem to have any intention of falling back asleep. Instead, she sat on the edge of the bunk, awake as ever despite the dark circles around her eyes.

"You need to get some sleep," the Jedi tried to convince her, taking a seat on the bunk too.

"I can't," she replied, quickly turning to him and then glancing back at her hands. Obi-Wan shook his head, exasperated.

"Satine, you refused to eat when I offered you food even when you were clearly starving, you can't do this too," he protested. Satine turned back to Obi-Wan and gave him a cold glare.

"As soon as I shut my eyes, I'll see him again, I'll relive everything he did to me. And it hurts Obi-Wan. You can't do that to me," she took a deep breath to calm herself down. Obi-Wan noticed that her hand was shaking again, and he placed his own over it. "I can't escape him."

"Only a few more hours, okay. We'll be on Coruscant soon." Satine nodded her head slightly, not convinced that this would be over so soon. "I'll contact Anakin, tell him to have a medical transport there, just to check up on you."

"I'm fine." Even as the words came out of her mouth, she knew they were a lie. She could still feel the slight sting of the cut she had reopened.

"Just to be sure," Obi-Wan offered a warm smile. "Just a few hours."

They'd be on Coruscant soon, they'd be far away from Mandalore and Maul. _They'd be safe._

* * *

 **Thanks for reading, I'll finally be bringing some actual plot in next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Prepare for endless grammar mistakes and crappy writing because I really didn't bother to edit this before posting! I blame it all on my headache...**

Maul paced back and forth across the cockpit of his ship, recalling everything that had happened within the last day. Kenobi had spoiled his plan for revenge, he had lost the duchess, the breakaway Death Watch gang, he believed they referred to themselves as the Nite Owls, not that it mattered anyway, had grown in strength.

And with that growing resistance, he and Savage had been forced to leave the planet. Apparently news of his failure got around fast, rumors spread fast of the Nite Owls calling for a Republic invasion. Maul would not want to be on Mandalore, or anywhere near for the matter, for that. Which left him where he was currently, drifting just out of the Mandalore system in a small Kom'rk class ship.

He was smart enough to know that he couldn't go to Coruscant to complete the plan he was forming himself, and he couldn't send Savage either. He did, however, still have some Mandalorians still loyal to him. Ones who had worked for Pre Vizsla before him and had been trained to disguise and hide themselves within the crowds of Sundari, and perhaps even Coruscant. It possible that they, or people they knew had been to Coruscant before under Vizsla's orders to assassinate the duchess. He could, he _would_ , use this to advantage.

"Brother," Maul called out to Savage, who was seated and monitoring the surrounding space for enemy ships. "We will need to sort out those still loyal to us and use them."

Soon, Satine would die, and Kenobi would be there to watch it.

* * *

Obi-Wan pulled the ship out of hyperspace, revealing the heavy fleet of cruisers forming a protective blockade around the capital of the Republic. He had always found Coruscant beautiful to look at from it's orbit, enjoying the way that the orange lights glowed against the dark planet and formed symmetrical patterns. It reminded him of how huge it really was, and despite living in the Jedi temple his whole life, he could never pinpoint the sector it was in from space.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Satine slump into the copilot's chair, her exhaustion finally getting the better of her.

"I got in contact with Anakin," Obi-Wan spoke, breaking the silence and tension that had been forming between them. "He says the Chancellor wants to meet with you immediately."

Despite the Jedi's attempt to hide it, Satine noticed the look of dismay that passed over his face. "What is it?" she asked him.

"Nothing," a sharp look from Satine prompted him to continue. "I just wish we had more time. I worry about you, and," he began to stumble with his words, "I believe we have more to talk about."

Satine raised an eyebrow at him. "And what would that be."

Obi-Wan hesitated, choosing his words carefully before continuing. "I ran into your sister when we were leaving Mandalore."

The look of surprise, and perhaps a little disappointment, that crossed over her face left Obi-Wan reaching out to gently caress her cheek.

"She wanted a Republic invasion on Mandalore."

"What!" Satine pulled back, smacking his hand away from her. "That's exactly what I've been trying to avoid."

"I know, but Satine, Maul has control over the planet for now. It's the only way to capture him," Obi-Wan pleaded, his eyes filled with desperation. Maul had caused enough pain, he didn't want to think about what else may happen.

"You don't want to capture Maul. You want him eliminated," Satine hissed in return.

"Don't tell me you want to spare him, not after what he did to you. He's dangerous, and it's the only way to keep him from striking again." Because he would surely be after them to finish what he started, and Obi-Wan had no intention of losing Satine. He needed to protect her.

"I know, Obi. But the least you can do is be honest with me from the start," she let out a sigh, looking him in the eye. "What about my people? I don't want any useless bloodshed."

"I know. The Republic troops can ally themselves with your sister, the civilians will be left out of it," he continued, feeling Satine's reassurance through the force. "Mandalore will survive, we always survive," he mumbled under his breath, Satine's eyes darting up at the familiarity of phrase. "It's what your sister said," he clarified.

"I know." Obi-Wan didn't dare to question her when all signs of happiness disappeared from her face and she lost herself in her memories. She stayed like that for minutes, silently grieving the sense of family she had once had.

Obi-Wan turned away from her, directing his attention back to the approaching planet. Anakin had already reserved a docking bay for him, and informed the clones who monitored the ships arriving and leaving that he would be coming in a Mandalorian class ship, not his classic Jedi starfighter, or even the Twilight(that would be a long conversation with Anakin).

He would land in the senate district, the Chancellor had required it. But it wasn't at the classic docking bay, the one that the Coronet had landed on the day after Satine had confessed her love to him. No, the Chancellor wanted them to land directly at the senate building, and Obi-Wan could think of only one good reason why. Chancellor Palpatine wanted to greet her personally.

The ship landed softly, and Obi-Wan could make out the familiar figures of Senator Amidala, Anakin, and Chancellor Palpatine waiting, confirming his suspicions. He turned to Satine and found her too looking out at those waiting. He was surprised to see her displaying her vulnerability so openly, something she would never do around anyone else. _Force_ , she looked terrified.

 _It'll be alright_. He wanted to soothe her, but he was back in Coruscant. The Jedi were here, they could feel him through the force. He couldn't reveal anything that they could perceive as attachment.

Instead, he reached his hand out to her. "Are you ready?"

"No," she laughed, taking his hand anyway. The walked down the ship's ramp hand in hand, earning a smug smirk from Anakin. Obi-Wan rolled his eyes at the young Jedi, his grip never loosening.

"Duchess," Palpatine bowed his head in respect with a forced smile. "It's nice to see you alive."

Padme nodded in agreement, her smile more sympathetic with a touch of worry at Satine's disheveled state.

"We will continue this discussion in my office," the Chancellor continued. "Master Jedi, you are dismissed."

Obi-Wan's grip on Satine's hand tightened protectively. It wasn't that he didn't trust her to be able to defend herself if he wasn't there, he'd seen himself that she was perfectly capable, he simply didn't trust everyone else. If Satine was going anywhere he was going with her.

 _But force,_ he chastised himself, _you really don't need to make such a public display of it. Not when you risk displaying your attachment to the rest of the Jedi order. Not when Anakin is standing_ right there!

"I'm staying with her," he still managed to say.

"Master Kenobi, your presence will not be needed." Obi-Wan didn't miss the forceful glare that Palpatine sent his way. "You can report what happened on Mandalore to the council."

"The council will contact me when they need me," Obi-Wan hissed back, standing his ground and refusing to leave.

Palpatine didn't respond, which Obi-Wan took as a victory for himself and followed the Chancellor and Senator Amidala into the senate building. Anakin remained where he was standing for a minute, his eyes darting back and forth between the entrance to the senate building and his speeder. He eventually gave up and quickly rushed to catch back up to Obi-Wan.

"Where's my ship," he whispered.

"What!" Obi-Wan turned his head, hearing Anakin perfectly well, but not quite sure why the Jedi was asking him now.

"I mean, you showed up here in a Kom'rk class ship, not the Twilight," Anakin glared, his voice full of anger that Obi-Wan had gotten familiar at hearing directed towards him. "Where's my ship?"

"Ah," Obi-Wan answered cautiously, "it was blown up when I was trying to escape Mandalore. I'm sorry, Anakin."

"It was _what!_ "

"Blown up," Obi-Wan winced slightly.

"I heard you the first time," Anakin growled back. "I trusted you to return that ship in one piece."

"Mandalore was, is still, stuck in chaos. It'll be a miracle if the planet itself makes it out of mess."

Anakin let of an exasperated sigh. "I don't need your excuses, I get it. Mandalorians are, well….Mandalorian."

"It wasn't Death Watch, Anakin, it was Maul."

Anakin didn't get a chance to respond, the Chancellor had reached his private office and had slid open the door, but Anakin's face was washed over in complete shock. Obi-Wan hadn't gotten the chance to explain exactly what had happened that lead up to Satine's near death on Mandalore when he had contacted Anakin the day before. Everything including Maul had been left out. That would be quite the explanation.

"Master Jedi, you insisted on coming along," Palpatine called out to the two Jedi. He had already took a seat at his desk, arms folded in front of him. "The least you could do is join us." He beckoned them to come in. Obi-Wan moved to stand just slightly behind Satine. It was as if she was a completely different person than she had been the night before. She was the same person she had been before Maul captured her. Despite her disheveled state, she stood, head held high, with all the confidence she seemed to have. No one would've been able to guessed that merely hours ago she had been stumbling through the ship, afraid of shadows.

"I would like to know everything," Palpatine began, a hint of amusement in his voice and his eyes bright as the landed on Satine. Obi-Wan had seen him use the expression before, when he was victorious. "The last time we spoke, I believe that you claimed you had everything under control on Mandalore."

"I did," Satine hissed back, an amount of venom in her voice that made even Obi-Wan uncomfortable.

"Then, if I may ask, how did this ," he eyed her, not missing the bruises and cuts that were visible, " _catastrophe_ come to be. It was Death Watch, was it not?"

"No," was Satine's quick reply. "The Death Watch knew as much about this as I did. They were pawns in a bigger plot." Palpatine raised an eyebrow curiously. "It was Maul."

"Darth Maul, the former Sith Lord?" Palpatine may have covered it well, but Obi-Wan could feel a surge of anger coming off of him through the force.

"Yes," Satine replied, lowering her head .

"I see," Chancellor Palpatine rested his chin on his hand. "And General Kenobi managed to show up and get you out of that mess mostly unharmed."

"Yes, my nephew and sister managed to break me out, I sent a message to the jedi council and Obi-Wan came and rescued me."

Palpatine chuckled softly. "Interesting," he mused, eyes darting back and forth between the Jedi and Duchess. Obi-Wan could see Satine's confidence slowly deteriorate, her hands tensing at her sides, as if she was scared of what Palpatine may have discovered. Padme too noticed this and placed a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder. "I do recall meeting with Master Yoda the other day, he claimed that the message was sent directly to you, General Kenobi, and that you were forbidden from heading to Mandalore."

"Ah," Obi-Wan stumbled with his words, noticing out of the corner of his eyes that Satine had relaxed slightly. She had already known all of that information. "Yes, that's true. I left without their permission. I couldn't let her become a martyr."

"And with that, I agree. She is valuable to the Republic and the Neutral Systems." Obi-Wan took note of how he didn't mention Mandalore. "I can speak for all of the senate when I say that we are glad you returned her safely," his tone was sincere, but his smirk said otherwise. Obi-Wan had always found the Chancellor suspicious, but this was pushing it much farther.

"We'll leave now," Obi-Wan interrupted, beckoning for Satine to follow him out of the room.

"Yes, I believe it would be best for her to find a place to stay before tonight. Tomorrow, Duchess, I will have you present _everything_ that happened on Mandalore to the senate," he was challenging her, it was obvious. Satine seemed to notice, a small gasp escaping her before she left the room behind Padme. She wasn't paying attention to Anakin and Obi-Wan as they turned to walk down the opposite hallway, her mind calculating the possibilities to avoid the minor details of her capture by Maul. But the Chancellor was persistent, and smart. he would know if any small detail was left out, and he would exploit it.

"I have a guest bedroom at my flat," Padme broke the silence and gave Satine a smile. Obi-Wan stopped walking , just for a second, to listen in and make sure that Satine would be alright for the night. He wasn't _usually_ like this, and if he wanted to keep his love for her a secret from the Jedi, he would really need to stop acting like that, but there was something about watching her near death that changed him.

"Thank you, Padme," was Satine's reply, only looking to give Padme a nod before her gaze fell to the floor and she went back to her thoughts. She didn't notice as Obi-Wan turned around once again to catch up to Anakin.

"Satine?" Padme inquired, once again placing a hand on her shoulder. Satine didn't reply, but looked up, met Padme's eyes, and raised an eyebrow. "Are you alright?"

Somehow, she wasn't even quite sure how herself, Satine managed to fake a smile and nod. "Yes," she lied.

* * *

 **As much as would love to say things will get better from here, as most would assume considering this _is_ a Lawless au, I can't really do that... the angst begins NOW! *mwahahaha* **

**My lack of sleep is really making me loopy, isn't it?**


	5. Chapter 5

**I can assure you that everything will go downhill from here. Have fun...**

Obi-Wan stood in front of the council, scanning the members for any indication on how the meeting would go. There was none. The Jedi that sat in front of him were emotionless, just as they always were. He had always thought that he was as committed as them, he was wrong. Giving up everything that the Jedi had asked always seemed so easy, but that had all been before he had been reunited with Satine.

"Master Kenobi," the Jedi looked up, recognizing the voice of Yoda calling his name. He bowed his head in respect before letting the masters continue. "Forbidden from going to Mandalore, you were. Left anyways, you did."

Despite the fact that Ki Adi Mundi was the only other one there to hear Yoda's proclamation before he left, none of the council members seemed fazed. They had likely been informed as soon as Obi-Wan had been reported missing, "I've already given you my reasons. I will not let Satine become a martyr."

"And it's already been stated that _this_ is an outside matter," was Mace's response. _I've already had this conversation_. But it was less rushed than, there was a sense of danger and urgency to get to Mandalore the first time, now Satine was safe. And now he had more details about what was really happening on Mandalore.

"It wasn't an outside matter," Obi-Wan spoke, already beginning to get frustrated with the amount of times he had heard and repeated this information. "Maul was there, he was luring me into a trap." _One I fell right into._

"A Sith lord," Ki Adi breathed a sigh, the rest of the council not daring to speak. "But this doesn't change the position you are in _now._ You left without knowing this, you disobeyed direct orders."

"Yes, masters, I am aware, and I ask for your forgiveness. But know that Jedi are peacekeepers. This war is making us forget that our job expands beyond just the Republics needs. I will not stand helplessly and watch a close friend of mine perish when requesting help." Satine had told him that once, he had been so caught up in the war that he hadn't realized the truth to her words. The Jedi were losing their purpose, becoming someone that they weren't.

"Understand this, we do," Yoda nodded sincerely. Obi-Wan knew that he wasn't lying, that he too saw the disillusion the war was creating. "But face the consequences, you must."

 _Consequences? For doing what was morally right?_ Sensing Obi-Wan's outrage, Yoda frowned. This was a new behavior from the younger Jedi, one they hadn't witnessed since his padawan years.

"You will stay on Coruscant until you can prove that this attachment does not hinder your ability as a Jedi," Mace spoke, eyeing Obi-Wan with more impatience than usual. "You are dismissed."

Nodding his head, and trying to keep his frustration in check, Obi-Wan turned to leave, the door to the council chambers automatically sliding closed behind him.

When he reached his private quarters, Anakin was standing in front, leaning casually against the wall as he fondled with the long sleeves of his tunic. Hearing, or perhaps sensing, the Jedi master walking towards him, he looked up and smiled.

"Hey Obi-Wan," the younger Jedi's voice was as cheerful as ever. Obi-Wan guessed that he had been reassigned to some planet. Anakin _had_ always enjoyed action to sitting around and training at the temple.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan groaned, walking past his former padawan and into his room. "What _are_ you doing here."

"Do I have to have a reason to visit you?" Anakin followed Obi-Wan inside, using the force to pull a chair to him and sitting in it.

Obi-Wan Turned, raising an eyebrow at Anakin that indicated that _yes, he did need a reason._

"Alright, fine," Anakin sighed in defeat, but didn't move nor elaborate. "But can I at least stay for dinner."

"What do you want," Obi-Wan hissed in return, but didn't hesitate to grab two cups, instead of one, to fill.

"Nothing, nothing," Anakin rolled his eye with a smirk. "Just trying to spend some quality time with my master before Ahsoka and I are shipped off to Cato Neimoidia."

" _Former_ master," Obi-Wan corrected. "When do you and Ahsoka leave?"

"Tomorrow morning," Anakin groaned. "I was surprised that you weren't assigned to come with us, what did the council say?"

"I'm temporarily stuck on Coruscant until I can prove myself _unattached,_ " Obi-Wan let his frustration show, knowing Anakin would pick up on it anyway.

"So the council thinks you're attached to Satine..." Anakin glanced up slightly in thought before resting his head on his hand to hide his smirk. "Are you?"

It took Obi-Wan a moment to react. Had Anakin asked this earlier, perhaps on the Coronet, he would've denied it instantly. But he had just risked his place on the council to save Satine, and even at the moment, he could help but worry over her safety. "I don't know, Anakin," he sighed, ignoring the smug gaze that Anakin was surely giving him by opening cabinets in attempt to find the bread. "I would risk everything to save her, I _did_ risk everything already, is that attachment?"

"You love her," Anakin replied, pointing to the loaf of bread that was sitting on the counter, right in front of Obi-Wan's sight. _Force,_ the Jedi master was distracted.

"Thank you," Obi-Wan mumbled purposely ignoring Anakin's answer. He _did_ love Satine, he was certain of it, but he wasn't sure if he was ready to admit it to Anakin yet. He was supposed to be a good example for the younger Jedi, someone to look up too(even if Anakin never really did), and admitting that he had failed to follow the code he was supposed to enforce, proving himself a hypocrite, was not something he wanted to do.

Anakin watched as Obi-Wan silently finished making them both sandwiches. He could sense the older Jedi's turmoil. "What happened while you were on Mandalore?" Anakin questioned, taking a bite from the sandwich in front of him.

"Besides Maul showing up and declaring his eternal hatred for me by taking over Mandalore and trying to kill Satine?" The sarcasm in Obi-Wan's voice was obvious. "Won't this all be cleared up tomorrow?"

"Yes, but I want to hear your point of view, what you told the Jedi council...except...in more detail." Anakin's attempt to keep his voice from wavering suspiciously failed. He needed to learn more, and after all, he and Ahsoka wouldn't be on Coruscant to hear what went down in the senate the next day.

It was at that moment that Obi-Wan realized that the Jedi council hadn't asked for a briefing for what had happened on Mandalore. _They didn't care. It wasn't a mission they were involved in, so why bother. What_ have _the Jedi resulted too?_

"There's not much more to it," he tried to shrug off the question, taking the seat next to Anakin to eat. He knew that Anakin wanted to know more, but he couldn't bring himself to tell Anakin in more detail, not when Satine had been so reluctant to tell him alone. "Satine was captured, I tried to free her, Maul captured us both again, I narrowly saved her life."

It took all of Anakin's restraint not to counter Obi-Wan's statement with something that would reveal his exact reasons for being at his place. _But what about Satine? How is she?_ He caught himself just in time, however, before blowing his cover. "I see," Anakin let his disappointment show. Perhaps guilt tripping would work.

With a quick glance at the clock, Obi-Wan spoke. "It's getting late." And, in truth, many nights Anakin had stayed hours longer, bugging his master about the newest stupid decision the council had made, or gossip that the clones had spread that he ended up hearing. "You should get some rest before you and Ahsoka have to leave tomorrow."

Anakin nodded, standing up after one last bite of his meal. "I'll see you soon, old man."

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes at the nickname, watching Anakin leave, relieved to get the time to himself. He considered contacting Satine, just to check in and make sure she had settled in alright, but decided against it. If he wanted to prove himself unattached, it meant distancing himself from her. He wouldn't want to risk falling in any deeper than he already had, so he decided to get some rest, having spent most of the night before comforting Satine.

Anakin knew that he should be heading back to his quarters to get some rest so he wouldn't be woken up by his commlink ringing five minutes before he was supposed to meet Ahsoka at the docking bay, but that didn't change the fact that he _wasn't._ He found himself in his speeder, rushing towards the senate district and Padme.

It wasn't that late, Anakin had showed up at Padme's flat later many times. He wasn't concerned about that, in complete honesty he wasn't any more concerned than usual, only worried that Ahsoka might need something before they left and come looking for him. He shrugged off the feeling though, deciding that she could go to Obi-Wan if that was the case. It _had_ happened before.

Reaching the balcony at Padme's flat the overlooked the city of Coruscant, Anakin shut down his speeder and rushed inside. He found his wife seated in the kitchen, a cup of caf in her hand as she scanned over a datapad. She didn't seem to notice him, too engaged in her work. "Angel?" he called out, walking forward and placing both hands on her shoulders from behind. Realizing he was there, she spun around and quickly enveloped him in a hug.

"I heard you were reassigned, I didn't think you'd stop by tonight," Padme pulled back, after a quick kiss on her cheek by Anakin, and walked into the kitchen. "Do you want something to eat?"

"I ate at Obi-Wan's," Anakin responded, following her, leaning against the counter as she refilled her cup of caf. At his words, Padme eagerly turned around.

"Did he tell you anything?" she questioned with a hopeful smile. Earlier that day, Padme had sent him off to try to get information from Obi-Wan after Satine had settled in at her flat. She was worried about her friend, who had locked herself in the guest bedroom and had only come out to take what Padme had left in front of the door for her, some spare clothes(a handmaiden had been sent out to get some that would be in Satine's size, as the Mandalorian was taller) and food.

Knowing Satine, she assumed that the former-duchess was just separating herself from any conversation that would likely involve what had happened on Mandalore, perhaps trying to figure out how to get past the senate meeting planned for the next day and the request for a Republic occupation on her planet that she had wanted to keep out of the war. Coping with everything that had happened would be hard, she just needed to give Satine time.

"Just what we already know," Anakin groaned. Obi-Wan had never been one to tell the direct truth, but he'd been around his master long enough to know when he was distressed. "Though I think something happened, he kept on dodging my questions." _Which isn't unusual._ But this was different then Obi-wan's natural distant disposition, he was distracted, worried.

"And you couldn't get _anything_ from him," Padme glanced towards the hallway that lead to the guest

bedroom. Anakin, noticing this, wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer.

"No," he paused for a quick second, to take in everything, feeling Padme's worry through the force. "I think she'll be fine," he reassured. "If she's anything like you," _which she is,_ "she's trying to figure everything out." Anakin recalled the many times that Padme, stressed over whatever the most recent topic in the senate was, had pushed him away, refusing to let any distraction get in her way. As long as he gave her space until she finished, everything would turn out fine.

Padme nodded, tearing her gaze away from the hallway and back to her husband. "You think so?" Anakin managed a quiet laugh before glancing at Padme with a smirk, eyebrows raised. An obvious _yes._ In return, the senator playfully smacked his arm. "She's my friend, I have a right to be concerned!"

"I wasn't saying that you don't. Just wait until after the senate meeting, she just needs to get it over with."

"I hope you're right with this," Padme glared, not sure whether she should trust him when Anakin had only met Satine once. But he _was_ right. Satine had said it herself, they were of the same mind.

"Good, and maybe you'll realize how hard it is to deal with overly stressed politicians," he smirked, Padme rolling her eyes at the comment. He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder before continuing, "please, just trust me."

"I do," her voice was quiet, almost shaking, as she responded. _Just one more day, then everything would start going back to normal._


	6. Chapter 6

From the overlook in the senate building, Obi-Wan watched as Satine presented her case. She had a new gown fit to her size, with blue accents bringing out her eyes, a sash pulled tightly around her waist, showing just how thin she had gotten over the last few days. Her hair was down, a rarity, as it was usually up for meetings and such, but she had her reasons for doing so. It covered the bruises forming on her neck, just as the rest of the cuts were covered by her clothing.

He had tried, multiple times, to gently nudge into her force signature, so he could feel what she was unwilling to show, only to find her blocking him, and most likely any other force sensitive being in the room.

Slightly annoyed, he decided it was no use in continuing to try, so instead he watched her, hoping to find any indication of how she was doing. But she had spent years in politics, teaching herself how to hide her emotion the same way a Jedi had. Her ice queen persona had returned, all vulnerability gone. And so far, it had payed off.

The senate session had progressed more like an interrogation than anything else. Palpatine asking questions, Satine answering the best she could. Obi-Wan didn't understand why all of this hadn't happened when Satine had first arrived, but he assumed it was for the politics. The rest of the senate was there, listening intently as everything unfolded. They would hear exactly what happened, not secondhand from the Chancellor. Every detail would be exact.

To his own surprise, Satine hadn't bothered to leave anything out, even the little details that she had struggled to tell him, that he _knew_ hurt her to think about. She kept her emotions in check, made it look as if what had happened hadn't left her hurt. That was, so far.

"You said it was a trap," Palpatine narrowed his eyes at Satine. "That Maul was using you and your planet as bait. To capture General Kenobi, I assume."

Satine faltered, barely noticeable as she quickly covered it up. "Yes," she replied, not a hint of emotion that could give away anything. "He," she paused, taking a deep breath, "he is a close friend of mine, sworn to protect me when he was still a padawan."

Obi-Wan realized, observing the conviction written across her face, that what she said wasn't a quickly thought up lie, it really wasn't a lie at all. She had spent years, perhaps the whole time they were apart, convincing herself that _friends_ was all they were, that nothing had ever happened between them, and never would. Even after they had confessed their love to each other, they never pursued anything. They were _just friends._ And the pause, that was because it hurt her to admit it.

Obi-Wan pushed the grief he felt away, he had never let it consume him before. He would continue the streak, even if there was a feeling of guilt for causing her _this_ nagging at him.

"And Maul knew this?" All eyes turned to Satine as she realized the careless mistake in her words. She had set herself up for the following conversation.

"Yes." Palpatine raised a curious eyebrow, urging her to continue. "I don't know how he originally figured out that Master Kenobi was associated with Mandalore, perhaps from Vizsla," she spat his name, still bitter about the former-governor's betrayal. "But Maul, once he figured out that hurting _me_ would hurt him, he…" Her hand was trembling at her side, "he tortured me." Her voice shock slightly, and all eyes turned towards her, some with pity, others with the blank expression of shock.

Satine looked as if she wanted to disappear, away from everyone. It wasn't a feeling she was used to, and definitely not one she enjoyed. She had been scared before, standing in front of the senate, he safety of her people jeopardized. Hiding it had never been hard then, but now something had snapped. She couldn't push aside her fear, it was getting the better of her. And _force,_ she really need to regain her composure. Taking a deep breath, closing her eyes for just a split second, she let her political facade return. The fear left her eyes, her hand stopped shaking, but the expression written across the senators remained the same. Pity.

"A Republic occupation is the only way to remove the threat," Palpatine's smirk was that of one who was certain he had been right the whole time. He didn't suspect Satine to agree, her protesting it was expected. But she didn't.

"Yes," she bowed her head slightly, nodding. "My people are threatened by Maul, resistance from those who have split from Maul will do little to stop that."

There was a long pause and the room feel silent. Palpatine would be lying if he said he had prepared for Satine to agree with him.

"Senate dismissed, the vote will commence in the next session."

Obi-Wan stayed put and watched as the senators left, his gaze straying in the direction he knew Satine would be. It was a few minutes before she appeared, walking in his direction. Her head was lowered, ignoring all the sympathetic nods from passing senators.

 _She could use this to her advantage, their pity. They'll vote in her favor, for the Republic occupation._ Obi-Wan rested his chin on his hand. _But she doesn't want that in the first place, she never did._ She had still agreed to it, though. It had left Obi-Wan confused, Satine had never been one to abandon her beliefs. The Jedi realized now that tht was before the lives of her people were at serious risk, and before a sith lord had taken over her planet. After all, she _had_ confirmed that herself just a few minutes before.

"General Kenobi," her voice interrupted his thoughts. The use of hs title shocked him, but he quickly remembered that they were still in public.

"Duchess," with a quick bow of his head, met met her glance.

"Can we talk?" she asked, quickly glancing around her before lowering her voice, "alone?"

The Jedi council hadn't contacted him yet today, which was a surprise considering they were in the middle of a war. Meeting with her wouldn't take too long, and even if the council contacted him while he was with her, he could just leave. Satine would understand, she always would. "Yes, of course," he responded, taken aback by how quickly she turned around and began walking the other way.

"I have a speeder parked outside the building, you don't mind coming to the guest room, do you?" she questioned, tone hushed, as soon as he caught up to her.

"It won't be a problem." He was walking faster than usual to keep her pace, occasionally having to dodge people passing by. Upon reaching her speeder, she quickly hopped in, followed by Obi-Wan, before quickly starting it her distress, he placed a hand on her arm. "I'm so sorry that it's come to this."

"There was nothing you could do." With a sigh, she took off from the landing pad, and Obi-Wan watched as the Senate Building turned to a speck behind them.

* * *

Padme wasn't there when Satine slipped into her flat, Obi-Wan shortly behind. She assumed that the younger woman had gotten caught up talking to someone after the senate meeting, giving Satine and Obi-Wan a little bit to talk alone before she returned. The entered the guest bedroom, and Obi-Wan wasn't surprised to find it as exquisite as the rest of the place, but it lacked Satine's charm.

The duchess took a seat at the end of the poster bed positioned in the center of the room. Obi-Wan shifted uncomfortably before joining her.

"What you said on the ship, about _us_ ," she reached out and clasped his hand in hers. Obi-Wan didn't bother to resist. "Can we talk about that."

Obi-Wan knew what he wanted to say, what he had realized he had wanted after he wintnessed her near death. But right now, he had made a promise to the Jedi, and they needed him more than ever in the war. Hiding his feelings for Satine had been hard enough before, and now the council was expecting him to let go and move on. Seeing her again after all those years had _hurt._ Knowing that they both still had feelings for each other, knowing that they could never be anything more.

He couldn't take back his words now, not that he wanted to, but his promise to the Jedi had always come first. He would stay true to that.

"I'm not sure," he kept his voice low, afraid of hurting her. "I know how I feel, but I am unsure of how to act upon those feelings."

"I know," her grip tightened on his hand.

"I think it would be best for now, if we tried to forget everything that happened between us." Even still, he gripped her hand desperately. Only when she yanked away did he let go. She was angry, that much was apparent, but Obi-Wan couldn't figure out why. _Had he said something wrong?_

"You think I can just ignore all of that?" she hissed, eyes locked on him challengingly. It wasn't rare for Obi-Wan to forget she Mandalorian, raised by warriors. She may have committed herself to pacifism, but there was a spark of warrior that still remained, and it always seemed to show up at the most surprising moments. "I spent sixteen years trying to move on from you, forget everything. To you honestly think that I can do that now? I _know_ we can't be together, I _know_ that all hope of that is gone. That doesn't make it any easier, that doesn't make it hurt less"

"Satine, I," he reached out, only to find her pull back. "That's not what I meant. I couldn't possibly… Forgetting you? It would be the hardest thing in this universe. I didn't mean it like that."

"Then how did you mean it," she scoffed.

"I don't _know,_ Satine! Both of us know our restrictions, do you honestly think I'm _happy_ with them?" Exasperated, he rested his head in his hand, rubbing his forehead. "I want to be able be by your side for this, _force,_ Satine, you're the light of my life, I can't just push you aside as if this is nothing. The council wants me to, they know. They know how I feel about you!" Obi-Wan let out a choked sob, hiding his face deeper in his hand. He couldn't let Satine see him like this. So confused, so conflicted. "The Jedi, they're my family, I've spent my whole life following them. If they want me to prove myself unattached, I know I need to."

Satine understood, how could she not. It why she kept him at arm's length and didn't bother to push him back towards her. He was loyal to the Jedi, his life and happiness came before her love for him, and vice versa.

"But I can't do that." Another muffled sob followed his words, and Satine was taken back in surprise. Obi-Wan had never had trouble pushing her aside before, ignoring his true feelings was something he seemed to have perfected after years of pain caused by everyone he loved.

"Obi-Wan, you are a _Jedi._ You always have been," she comforted, softening her tone. "You can't abandon your ideals for me. You never have before, don't let what happened on Mandalore change that. Nothing is different."

"Oh, but it is." Obi-Wan shifted in his position, resting his hand at his side. A sad smile glazed his face. "You said it yourself, dear. Things are changing, and I'm afraid we're caught right in the middle."

Satine had no response to him, she'd seen first hand the change that had washed across the Jedi since the beginning of the war. Obi-Wan was right, nothing was the same as the time they had parted after a year of running from assassins and bounty hunters. He had journeyed across the galaxy, seen so much, whether it be for the better or the worse. Perhaps it was time to make things different.

"You _are_ right, I have a commitment to the Jedi order." Obi-Wan took a deep breath, regained his composure, and decided that what he had to do. "I will follow the council's orders, do my best to convince them."

He stood up to leave, flattening the tabards of his tunic. "But I promise," Satine glanced up at him, only to find herself captivated by the warmth in his eyes. "I promise that I'll make things right for us."

Unable to resist, Satine leapt up from her seat of the side of the bed and threw herself into Obi-Wan's arms. He held her tightly, letting his head rest of her shoulders. "I promise," he mumbled into her hair. "I love you."

There was a slight noise from outside the guest bedroom. The _swoosh_ of a door sliding open. Padme.

Both Obi-Wan and Satine pulled back from each other, and with a tacit goodbye, Obi-Wan left the room. He walked passed Padme with a quick nod before sauntering out the front door of her flat with a content smile.

Padme watched as Obi-Wan left, amused. She hadn't seen the Jedi master look that pleased since perhaps before the war started, and she could only guess that it had to do with Satine. _Anakin was right,_ she concluded, _there is_ definitely _something going on between them._

Rather satisfied with her conclusion, Padme made her way towards the door of her guest bedroom. She had news, and hopefully it turned out to be good, but she couldn't be sure considering the lack of any real conversation with Satine since the former-duchess had arrived on Coruscant. She hoped Anakin was right, and that he would find Satine in a more open mood. Seeing Obi-Wan here was already a good sign. And, Padme noted, seeing the door to the room open was too.

She found Satine sitting at the end of the bed, skimming over a holobook of some sorts. The senator cleared her throat to get her friend's attention. Satine looked up immediately.

"I have news about the Republic occupation," Padme leaned against the doorframe, only hoping that everything would turn out the way she wished it to. "It passed."


	7. Chapter 7

**This chapter takes a break from whats going on with Satine and stuff to focus a lot on Anakin and Ahsoka, and that will be continuing for a while, but after this chapter, it will be a smaller part. I will say a head of time that this chapter does mostly just stay along the first 5 or so minutes of Sabotage. So yes, it's nothing thats really original from me. I will, however, be dwelling back into the au part of the story next chapter, and then the chapter after that(which I have completely planned out, and I apologize in advance for it).**

 **The updates for this chapter was slower than I liked, because I just wasn't in the mood and had writers block for most of it, so now that its over with, updating will get a little faster.**

Upon entering Cato Neimiodia's atmosphere, Anakin found the planet strangely beautiful. The pillars and archways, just visible over the thick layer of fog, were coated in a vibrant green moss. Strung in between the mounds of rock, were bridges, strong and sturdy to hold the cities built on top of them. It was a sight to take in, and Anakin only had mere moments to do so before he was being blasted at. _Typical._

Using the force to swerve his way through the incoming tri-fighters and incoming blaster fire from the gunships, he lowered his star fighter closer to the cities atop the bridges. Perhaps, when the war had first begun, minimal damage to the planet he was fighting on would've been a concern. But that was years ago, and vital battles had been lost that way. His concern _now_ was on his, Ahsoka's, and the 501st's lives. He had lost enough from the war, he didn't need anyone else, ever, that he cared about dying on his watch.

Watching the separatist blaster fire close in on the clone's ships in front of his, leaving them a flaming mess, he realized that that task was harder than he thought. Death was something that he had never gotten used to, even with nearly three years of fighting on the frontlines, watching his clone troops die was always something that causes him to ache, and he knew from experience that Ahsoka and Obi-Wan felt the same.

With a quick glance back at the remaining debris, he pushed his ship forwards towards the landing point. A crackle from his comlink was followed by Ahsoka's voice.

"Look out, incoming missiles!"

And sure enough, from a separatist fighter behind him, two missiles were heading right his way. Ahsoka veered out of the way, and just in time, closely followed by Anakin.

"No problem," the Jedi knight gloated, a smirk tugging at his lips.

He had clearly spoken too soon, as the missile in front of him burst to reveal an inside filled with buzz droids. Anakin's starship being in front of Ahsoka's, they all landed on his. "Uh...slight problem."

As the activated and began to scurry across the outside of the ship, doing what they were programmed to do, take apart ships, Anakin narrowed his eyes in annoyance. "I've got buzz droids, how bad were you hit!"

"I'm all clear," came Ahsoka's voice through his comm.

"What?" Anakin let out a sigh before cursing his luck. _Of course she was._ "You always have it easy, Snips."

The buzz droids continued to hurry along, one getting a quick glare at artoo before being squished by a panel on the starship. "Good job, artoo," Anakin watched with a smirk, before getting his view blocked by one of the droids clambering up onto the glass of his cockpit, followed by its friends. "Someday, these droids will learn they keep messing with the wrong Jedi." He used the force to push a few of the buzz droids off. He'd been in this situation many times before, and this certainly wouldn't be the last. He knew how to handle it.

Pushing of the last of the buzz droids, Ahsoka's voice came through. "Looks like your clear."

"Just keep watching and learning, padawan."

Of course, being Anakin Skywalker, he was never truly 'clear', and he seemed to have jinxed himself as a metal leg, _would you even call it a leg for something like a buzz droid,_ broke through the metal flooring of the ship. "Uh oh."

"Your trailing smoke, whats wrong?" Ahsoka asked. Of course, Anakin couldn't see behind him, there was a seat blocking the way, but it only seemed reasonable that, yes, there was a trail of smoke behind him _because a buzz droid had just kriffing broke threw the bottom of his ship!_

"Nothing serious," he casually denied the problem. "Just a small malfunction."

Ahsoka knew that wasn't the case, not with the amount of smoke she saw, and _definitely_ not after a large bang sounded from Anakin's half of the commlink, followed by a blaring alarm. "Master?" No reply. "Master!" Once again, no reply. She'd have to rely on someone else instead. "Artoo, whats going on over there?"

A series of beeps and whistles followed, and after translating, she could make out what had gone down. "Unconscious?" It wasn't a surprise to hear that Anakin had gotten himself into _yet another_ mess. "Fly back to the cruiser." More beeps followed. "What do you mean there's something wrong with the engines?" What _had_ Anakin done this time? "Tip your wing, I'll see how bad it is."

And sure enough, there was the source of the problem. The bottom half of the starfighter was completely covered in buzz droids, one's that had been able to drill their way and interfere with the engine of the ship. "Oh thats no good," she mumbled to herself. "Let's just say now would be a good time to land."

She followed Anakin's fighter out of the main battle above the city and towards the nearest rock pillar. "Artoo, can you land the ship on that cliff ledge?" The beeps she got in return were not optimistic. "I don't care of the landing zone is too short, get the ship on the ground!" Perhaps she was a little too demanding, but her master's life was at risk, and after only a few years of perilous missions and nearly getting themselves killed in various ways, she had grown close to him, and losing him because his own droid was too stubborn was not a pleasant thought.

"Arseven, take over the ship, she commanded her own droid, "I'm going after Anakin," and then, under her breath, and slightly annoyed, she mumbled, "somebody has to save his skin."

She pressed to button that unlocked the top hatch of her cockpit and stood up, barely managing to keep her balance. With sparks of determination in her eyes, she watched Anakin's ship and took a deep breath. Arseven brought her own starfighter closer to his and just as Anakin landed, and _not_ a smooth landing, she leapt, instantly stumbling and sliding off the wing. _Anakin doesn't need to hear about_ that!

Nearing the edge, she sliced off the hatch, and grabbed her master, dragging his body out as the rest of the ship flew off the edge. Only after she had safely landed did she realized that she had forgotten to grab artoo. Through the fog below, she could make out the explosion of Anakin's starfighter hitting the ground below. She slumped her shoulders in guilt. _What was she supposed to tell Anakin._ Her master was strangely attached to the droid. And then, for the first time that day, luck with with her and the silver and blue droid appeared over the edge of the cliff, and landed while deactivating his jetpacks.

"Very funny, artoo" she scoffed, right as Anakin began to wake up. "Are you alright master?"

There wasn't an immediate response, as Anakin rubbed his head and let his eyes readjust to the light. "What'd I miss," he groggily replied.

"Oh, not much?," Ahsoka grinned. Suddenly Anakin seemed to become aware of his surroundings, panic overtaking him.

"Wait! Wasn't I flying, where's my fighter?" he eyed the rocks he was sitting on as if they were some alien substance. "How did I get here?"

"I saved the day," Ahsoka triumphed, "your welcome."

Anakin couldn't help but smirk. "Alright." Pulling out his commlink, he realized that both he and Ahsoka _did_ need a way off. "Captain Rex, Ahsoka and I need a lift," he informed.

"Right away, sir," Rex responded.

Faintly, Anakin could see a few gunships steer their way from the rest of the group and make their way towards he and Ahsoka's position. That was when his commlink went off.

* * *

When Obi-Wan arrived at the Jedi temple, is intention was to head back to his room and rest, or perhaps meditate on _how_ exactly he planned to fulfill his promise to Satine. It had been a heat of the moment thing, he really had no idea how to make it work out. But for now, he had a promise to the Jedi that would come first. A commitment he intended to keep.

As soon as he rounded the corner to the hallway containing his room, and loud blast filled the temple, followed by a muffled crash. An explosion. Obi-Wan rushed to where he heard, and could sense, the explosion, using the force to speed up his pace. When he arrived, all he saw was dark soot. Using the large sleeve from his tunic to cover his mouth, he pushed his way through the debris and towards the center. The smell of ash and charred flesh prodded him to tug his sleeve up to his nose too. The farther he got it, the darker the surrounding force felt.

He hadn't been close enough to the docking bay where the explosion had been set off to hear the distressed screams from those caught in it, but now, standing in the center of what remained, the force was screaming. All he could feel was death, the terror of the Jedi who had been killed.

 _What had happened._

His first thought was that is was an accident, but for an explosion of that size, there was no was it was possible. A terrorist attack would be a reasonable explanation, that was, if he hadn't been in the Jedi temple. Temple guards stood watch at every entrance, no one could get in unpermitted. Except for Cad Bane, but security had only increased since then. For an attack of this size, the bomber would've had to be in the temple. A traitor from the inside. It had to be that, someone like Krell. But the force didn't feel right. A puzzle where the pieces never fit together.

He gave up on trying to figure out the reasoning behind the attack, there were more urgent issues at the moment. Screams filled the room, one's of pain and pure horror. There were already Jedi filling the room, helping the injured towards the medbay, a few collecting the bodies to place together. Obi-Wan let out a sigh of relief as he noticed that he recognized none of the dead. He was thankful Anakin and Ahsoka had been offplanet. Anakin had spent a lot of time in the docking bay, adding upgrades to the _Twilight_ , not that he could do that anymore. If he had been there at the time of the explosion, Obi-Wan could only hope he would've made it out alive.

The sound of hurried footsteps entering the room prodded Obi-Wan to look up. Plo Koon rushed into the room, only to stop, and let the shock settle in. He could feel what Obi-Wan had felt. The pain, death. The Kel Dor then pulled out his comlink and said something that was inaudible from Obi-Wan's position from across the room. He then looked up and his eyes met the younger Jedi's.

"Master Kenobi, the tone he spoke in made him sound more worn down than the war had already made him, and the rest of the Jedi too. "The council will be holding a meeting momentarily." There was no need to explain why, the reason was obvious.

"Of course," Obi-Wan nodded before rushing off in the way of the council chambers.

* * *

As Obi-Wan entered the Jedi council room, he found Anakin and Ahsoka had already arrived, standing in the center of all the council members. There was a sense of despair surrounding the room, everyone still in shock from the sudden event. Obi-Wan quickly took his seat, trying to push aside the nagging sadness. He had had enough of that lately.

For the first time since the war had started, nearly all of the council members seat were taken, no holograms to display those who were off world fighting. If it wasn't under these circumstances, it would've excited Obi-Wan, given him a sense of familiarity in a time where everything was falling apart.

"How could the separatists infiltrate the temple," Anakin spoke, a hint of anger mixed in with his shock. It was nothing surprising, knowing Anakin's personality.

"Worse than that, it is," was Yoda's response, one that left Ahsoka looking puzzled.

"What could be worse?" she questioned, glancing up at Anakin. The war made it so easy to forget that she was still so young, simply a 16 year old. She still needed guidance, even after everything that she had learned.

Silence filled the room, everyone knowing the answer, but no one daring to speak it.

"Everything is on the table," Mace began, and Obi-Wan could tell that even he was reluctant to think of this possibility. "We have to look at the possibility that it could've been anyone in the temple, even a Jedi."

"If a Jedi, this is," Yoda continued, "gone to the dark side, they have."

Ahsoka's expression clearly showed that she had not been expecting that answer, and that, perhaps, she wished she hadn't been answered at all.

"I...I can't believe a Jedi would attack a place this sacred," she glanced down, shoulders slumped.

"We would like for you two to lead the investigation," Mace spoke. "We can't trust anyone that was here." he glanced back and forth, suspicion in his eyes. "Even a Jedi."

Obi-Wan couldn't help but feel outraged at that. He didn't show it, of course, but the Jedi, of all people, to be changed so drastically due to war to be turning on themselves!

"You and Ahsoka will provide an impartial point of view," the Jedi master continued. "Free of assumptions."

"We will do everything we can," Anakin replied, and Obi-Wan couldn't help but notice that he stood up just a little taller. _Perhaps,_ he considered, _Anakin is seeing this as a way to regain the council's trust after all of his reckless, impulsive decisions._

"Careful," Yoda drew out the word, "you must be, Skywalker. If willing to destroy the temple, the attacker is, great lengths they will go to keep from being caught."

Determination sparked in Anakin's eyes. "Then I will have to go to even greater lengths to catch him."

As the meeting was dismissed and the masters began to exit the room, and Obi-Wan caught a quick glance of Anakin, wearing an expression of anger that was mimicked by Ahsoka, he couldn't help but wonder to what lengths his two friends might go.


End file.
